The association between socioeconomic status and autism diagnosis in the United Kingdom for children aged 5–8 years of age: Findings from the Born in Bradford cohort

Abstract

There has been recent interest in the relationship between socioeconomic status and the diagnosis of autism in children. Studies in the US have found lower rates of autism diagnosis associated with lower socioeconomic status, while studies in other countries report no association, or the opposite. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of this relationship in the UK. Using data from the Born in Bradford cohort, comprising of 13,857 children born between 2007 and 2011, it was found that children of mothers educated to A-level or above had twice the rate of autism diagnosis, 1.5% of children (95% CI: 1.1%, 1.9%) compared to children of mothers with lower levels of education status 0.7% (95% CI: 0.5%, 0.9%). No statistically significant relationship between income status or neighbourhood material deprivation was found after controlling for mothers education status. The results suggest a substantial level of underdiagnosis for children of lower education status mothers, though further research is required to determine the extent to which this is replicated across the UK. Tackling inequalities in autism diagnosis will require action, which could include increased education, awareness, further exploration of the usefulness of screening programmes, and the provision of more accessible support services.

Awareness within local authorities in England of autism spectrum diagnoses of looked‐after children

“…There is also wide variation across the UK in relation to experiences of the diagnostic process for parents and professionals (Rogers et al, 2016). In addition, complex intersections exist between socioeconomic status, maternal level of education and rates of autism diagnosis, showing that mothers with higher levels of education had twice the rate of autism diagnosis amongst their children compared to mothers with lower levels of education (Kelly et al, 2017). It is already well established that material deprivation, and low educational attainment, intersect with SEN and the looked-after status of children (Department for Educa tion, 2018b), and that the effective marshalling of resources by families plays an important role in identification and support (House of Commons, 2006;Daniels & Porter, 2007).…”

Parents’ views and experiences of talking about autism with their children

“…The current study also largely comprised parents from a White ethnic background, who were fairly well educated (with over half being educated to university level). Such families may experience different routes to accessing an autism diagnosis, and different reactions to their child's autism diagnosis (e.g., Hussein, Pellicano & Crane, 2018;Kelly et al, 2017). Consequently, their experiences of disclosing their child's autism diagnosis to them might be very different and investigation would likely require bespoke investigations involving the communities as co-producers of such research (e.g., Fox, Aabe, Turner, Redwood, & Rai, 2017;Selman, Fox, Aabe, Turner, Rai, & Redwood, 2017).…”

Reward Devaluation in Autistic Children and Adolescents with Complex Needs: A Feasibility Study

“…Questionnaires presented a high proportion of missing data, which was mainly due to the fact that many parents were immigrants to the United Kingdom and not native speakers of English. Two recent studies [Delobel‐Ayoub, Ehlinger, & Klapouszczak, 2015; Kelly et al, 2019] report that ASD is both underdiagnosed and shows greater prevalence in populations of lower socioeconomic status (SES) including immigrants, and flag the need to improve autism awareness in these groups. In order to obtain data representative of the autistic population, it is therefore important to include participants from lower SES areas and immigrant backgrounds in research, despite potential shortcomings such as a higher rate of missing data.…”